Automated Vital Statistics System (AVSS)

AVSS was developed at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to automate birth certificates and other public health records. California hospitals, local registration districts and the California Department of Public Health use this Internet-based system to produce birth certificates and register the paper documents. As a result, AVSS enables hospitals and public health agencies to establish and maintain electronic databases containing all birth certificates that have been registered in California over the last decade. These databases provide a valuable tool for monitoring public health trends and are an important source for reporting California vital records to the National Center for Health Statistics. AVSS has significantly improved the timeliness and accuracy of the information collected on the birth certificate by automating production at the hospital of birth.